Light Shines Brightest in Darkness: A Nico di Angelo Fanfic
by CaliGirlLuvsBrit
Summary: When the son of Hades meets a girl named Eliana Lyra, his life turns upside down. Apart from the fact that they hated each other with a burning passion for the first month after they met, they got along great. A little too great for Hades' liking. *Based two years after war with Gaea.* *DISCONTINUED*
1. 1Boy Meets Girl and Her Little Brother

[1]Boy Meets Girl...And Her Little Brother

"Stupid demigods," the dark-haired boy muttered to himself as he walked through the forest alone, hands shoved in his pockets. "Stupid life." He stopped at the top of the hill, overlooking the deserted road on one side and Long Island Sound on the other. He watched as a dry Percy laughed at a drenched Annabeth. He smiled slightly. Sure, he had had a small crush on the son of Poseidon back when he was younger, but now he was over it. Percy and Annabeth had gone through so much together that if they weren't a couple the entire camp would make it happen.

He looked back to the road and was surprised to see a small figure running toward the hill, a larger one running after it. He quickly shadow-traveled to the Big House and warned Chiron. The centaur's eyes widened, assuming the worst: a monster chasing a young demigod. The defenses were formed in less than a minute.

His eyes strained to find the small figure until he finally did. It was a little boy, no older than the age he was when Percy, Annabeth and Thalia found him and his sister. Curly blonde hair flopped in the wind as the small boy ran toward them.

After a moment or two they caught sight of the larger figure. The defenses raised their bows, sheilds, or swords. The figure stopped dead.

He furrowed his brows. Why did it stop?

"Uh...hi."

That was a feminine voice. Not a growl, or a roar, but a feminine voice. Empousa, maybe?

"I, uh, come in peace."

Now she's an alien.

The girl crouched. "Miles James Lyra. Get your tiny butt over here."

The little boy frowned. "But-"

"Miles!"

The boy, Miles, sighed and walked over to the girl. The defenses, now confused, lowered their weapons and watched as the scene unfolded.

"You do _not_ run when I tell you not to. Understand?"

Miles nodded slowly, his eyes full of tears. "I'm sorry, Ellie."

The girl sighed, softly wiping away a tear. "I know, you just scared me."

Chiron cleared his throat. He was now in his wheelchair form, as to not frighten the young one. Ellie's head swung in his direction quickly and she rushed to her feet, grabbing Miles' hand and pushing him behind her.

Now that he could see her, he noticed her long, dirty blonde curls framing her tan face. Freckles sprinkled across her features, accentuating her bright blue eyes.

"If you don't mind my asking, who might you be?" Chiron inquired.

"I mind it." Ellie's eyes flickered across the defense lineup, stopping for a moment longer on him. But she quickly moved on to the rest.

"Then allow me to show you to our headquarters." Chiron had a twinkle in his warm eyes, and he instantly knew he was planning something.

Ellie hesitated, but Miles didn't. "Okay!" He ran over to Chiron, who began to wheel to the Big House. She closed her eyes, muttered something under her breath, then started after them. She met his eyes as she passed him, but for just a moment.

For a minute the defenses watched her, but then they put away their weapons and continued what they were doing before the interruption.

He debated, but then his curiosity won. He shadow-traveled to the Big House.

She caught up to the two, snatching Miles' hand. He looked up at her through thick eyelashes and grinned. She rolled her eyes at him. They approached an old blue house and climbed the stairs, the man in the wheelchair using a ramp. When they entered, the sweet smell of a hickory fire drifted through her nose.

"Take a seat," the man said, gesturing toward the couch.

Miles ran to it, jumping up and sitting Indian-style, but she remained standing. "I'm fine."

"All right. May I ask for your name?"

"I'm Miles, and I'm seven years old. I like superheroes. Do you like superheroes? I do, because they can do anything and-"

"Miles."

The little boy blushed. "Sorry."

"He gets a little...carried away." The corners of her lips lift slightly. "I'm Eliana. Eliana Lyra. But call me Ellie. Miles is my little brother."

"I'm Chiron. Ellie, do you know where you are?"

"Uh...somewhere in Virginia?"

Chiron's features went slack. "Virginia?"

"That's what I said. Last I checked the map, that's where we were: the border of Virginia." She took out her map and unfolded it, handing it to Chiron.

He scanned it. "This map is strange. It's been enchanted to lead you here, but tell you a different location."

She swore under her breath. "When I get my hands on Hermes, I'll-"

"Hermes?"

Ellie's eyes widened. "Uh, nevermind. Where am I?"

"You're at Camp Half-Blood, a safe place for demigods, children of mortals and gods, Greek gods. Which means that you are a demigod, as well as Miles."

"I know."

"You know?"

"Yeah. I was claimed years ago. Personally. Miles was a little after." She paused. "Do you think they'll reclaim us?"

"It could happen. If they want to be dramatic," Chiron answered thoughtfully.

"Trust me, they'll want to be dramatic," she muttered. She got up and grasped her younger brother, pulling him off the couch. "Thank you for the lovely chat, but we should go."

"Are you going to stay for dinner?"

"Can we? Please?" Miles pulled the puppy dog eyes.

She grimaced. Her weakness. "Fine." Miles cheered. "But," she said, "only if you're well-behaved the whole day."

"Okay!"

She turned to Chiron. "Thank you. I'll see you at dinner."

"You'll sit with me at the head table."

She forced a smile. "Great."

_Center of attention? Me? Come on, can't I catch a break?_ she thought. _At least Miles gets a real meal for once._ Her eyes wandered to her little brother, who was skipping next to her. She smiled.

_All right,_ he thought. _I can do this. Just go up to her, and say 'Hi, I'm Nico.' No, that sounds stupid. 'Hey, the name's Nico.' What am I? Aphrodite spawn?_ He groaned.

Suddenly, he was knocked off his feet and landed butt-first on the ground.

"I'm so sorry!" The voice sounded familiar. It was the girl from earlier! "Miles, you need to look where you're going! Apologize."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, it's fine." He finally looked up to see blue eyes staring back at him and a hand. He gripped the hand and was pulled up. The blue eyes were a beautiful shade, like the sky on a warm summer day. An orange ring circled the pupils like the sun.

"I'm Ellie. This is my little brother Miles."

He cleared his throat, looking away. "Nico."

"Well, nice to meet you, Nico."

"You, too."

He watched her retreating figure, now so different from the first he saw earlier.

**I'M BACK! Did y'all miss me? No?! Why not?! Eh, *shrugs* can't please everybody. Anyway, can you believe that I actually posted?! NEITHER CAN I! But I am really sorry about that hiatus I took without any explanation. It's just I got writer's block, then SCHOOL CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL! And I was just lying on the ground, twitching a little, wondering if my brain could take all the information being forced into it.**

**So tell me what you think!**

**Love always, **

**Cali 3**


	2. 2Girl and Little Brother Get Claimed

**Special thanks to:**

**MaltWarrior for being the first to follow!**

**Amaira Rai for being the first to favorite AND review!**

[2]Girl Gets Claimed…And So Does Her Little Brother

"So can you tell me how you learned you're a demigod?" Chiron asked her, taking a bite of his Caesar salad.

"Well, um, they just visited us one day around noon. Miles was visited about a year later," she stated vaguely, pushing the macaroni noodles around her plate, a nervous habit of hers.

"Is 'they' a god or goddess?" he inquired patiently.

"God," she answered, not averting her eyes from her dinner.

"How old were you?"

She swallowed the lump slowly forming in her throat, just for it to start building again. Her voice was soft. "I was ten."

"That would make Miles-"

"One year old," she finished for him.

"Where was your mother?"

She tensed, running a hand through her messy dirty blonde locks. "Away."

Chiron sensed this discomfort and promptly changed the subject. "Are you ever going to reveal this mystery godly parent of yours? Or will you wait until you are claimed?"

She welcomed the new topic with wide open arms. She laughed lightly, something she hadn't done in a really long time. Something that really felt good. "I'll think about it. If I'm not claimed tonight I'll tell, but we'll just have to see."

Her eyes wandered over the crowded dining pavilion, lit perfectly in the sunset's shadow, until they stopped at the darkest table there: Nico's table. He was sitting all alone, and she didn't know why. She asked Chiron.

"Each table is a different god or goddess's children," he explained, "and you'll be sitting at one of them when you are claimed."

"But..." She hesitated. "But what if I choose to leave?" Her light blue eyes met Chiron's, whose warm brown eyes softened.

"Then you are free to go. But I advise that you let your little brother stay. He'll be safe and can train properly, not learn to fight in dangerous situations."

She racked her brain for a valid argument, but sighed and looked back to her uneaten, and now cold, dinner when she found nothing.

Suddenly her plate was illuminated a bright gold. She glanced above her, and then moved her attention back to her food, rolling her eyes and resting her chin in the palm of her hand.

All the demigods rose and bowed to her as Chiron announced, "Hail, Eliana Lyra, daughter of the sun god."

"He's such a drama queen," she muttered. There was a rumble of thunder. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear ya."

A green light flushed the table after the gold faded, and she looked to see a caduceus floating above her little brother's head. The demigods bowed to him as "Hail, Miles Lyra, son of the messenger god," resounded around the pavilion.

"Wait a minute," a boy called out. All heads turned to him, but he didn't care. He had a mop of light brown curls on his head and a mischievous air around him. "They're siblings, but have different godly parents?"

"My mom must have been a catch, huh?" Ellie mumbled to herself, but because of the silence everyone heard. She realized this and dropped her head, letting her curls serve as curtains shielding her blush.

"It's possible, Connor. As you can see." Chiron gestured to her and Miles. "Now I think it's time everyone went to bed."

A chorus of groans sounded, but no one protested. The demigods filed to all the different cabins, but she stayed behind.

"Ellie, I'm going with Travis and Connor to my new...uh..."

"Cabin, Miles," one of the twins supplied.

"Cabin. I'll see you in the morning, right?"

"Yeah. Night, Milo." She kneeled down and kissed his forehead. "Love you, kiddo." She ruffled his hair.

"Love you, too, biggo." He yawned.

She stood up and turned to the twins. "Thanks. If you need anything, I'm in the Apollo cabin, okay?"

"Yeah, we know."

"But we've got this under control."

"I've always wanted a younger brother."

"_I'm_ your younger brother!"

They walked away, deep in "discussion" with a sleepy Miles following.

**An update the NEXT DAY? WHO IS THIS ACTIVE AUTHOR? I DON'T KNOW EITHER. But seriously, I want some input. **

**MAYBE YOU'LL BE DIFFERENT FROM MY STUPID CREATIVE WRITING TEACHER AND ACTUALLY WRITE SOME COMMENTS ON MY WORK. AFTER I SPECIFICALLY ASKED FOR FEEDBACK. OH MY GODS I CAN'T STAND HER. AND SHE CAN'T STAND ME. IT'S A MUTUAL FEELING.**

**So, how are you guys? I'm fine, thank you for asking. Oh...you didn't ask? Well then. **

**Man, I'm so much cooler on the internet than in real life...I need a life...psssshhhhh THIS IS MY LIFE. Oh, gods. Am I becoming that weird girl again? Dang it! I swore that would never become that EVER AGAIN. **

**COMMENT. VOTE. LOVE ME.**

**Love always,**

**Cali 3**


	3. 3Girl Gets Mad At Boy

**Thank you HayleyGoth and Amaira Rai for reviewing! Much appreciated!**

[3]Girl Gets Mad At Boy

She wandered toward the forest, hoping for some peace and quiet. Somewhere she could get lost in thought. She stopped in front of the perfect climbing tree and stepped onto the lowest branch, testing it. Sturdy, perfect. She grabbed limb after limb until she was about halfway up the not-too-tall tree and sat against the trunk.

She let her mind have control and it took her through her past, a dangerous place. She was so deep in that she almost fell out of the tree when she heard a voice.

"It's not safe up there ya know."

She peered down. "It's rude to scare people."

Nico frowned. "I wasn't trying to be rude, I'm warning you."

"Of what? The boogey man?"

"No, the tree you're sitting in is a nymph."

Her eyes widened. She had a moment to panic before she was dropped. Nico ran and caught her bridal style.

He smirked. "Told ya."

She glared at him, hitting his chest, causing him to drop her. She landed on her feet and she stormed away. Away from him. Away from the stupid nymph. Away from the forest. She contemplated going and getting Miles and taking him away from the camp, but that wouldn't be fair to him.

The next few weeks were full of combat practice, arguing with Nico, training with a dagger, pranking Nico, archery, and being pranked by Nico.

But one strange day she woke up without any glue in her hair, or unknown powder on her face, or ants in her covers. She ate breakfast without having any disruptions from a certain dark-haired boy. Archery went smoothly, no plunger arrows being flown at her face.

"Is there something different about today? Or is it just me?"

She glared at the laughing Will and Austin. "You guys know exactly what's going on. But I don't get why." She glanced around the archery range, looking for anything suspicious. Nada. "I'm going to the stables. Wanna come with?"

"I'll go with you." She turned to see Phoenix from the Hephaestus cabin.

She smiled. "All right. Come on."

They walked in silence, but it felt natural. However, she hated silence. So she decided to break the ice.

"I'm Ellie, daughter of Apollo."

"Phoenix, from Hephaestus." She blew her brunette hair out of her face, but ended up setting the tips aflame. She pinched them to put it out.

"I can see that, now." They laughed a little. Their heads turned to face each other, and they burst out laughing.

And thus began their friendship. When they went into the stables, Phoenix leaned against the doorway and Ellie approached her regular horse named Phaeton. He was a nice black steed, and his name was Greek, meaning "the shining one." She named him this because you don't have to be light in color to shine.

"Hey there, Phae. What's up?" She grabbed a brush and stroked his side. She loved that he was the only horse in the stables. Ellie had specifically gotten a regular horse so that whenever she would ride him, she would feel like a regular girl. Not a demigod that ran from home when she was ten with her one year old brother. "Phoenix, I'm gonna go for a quick ride. Be back in an hour."

Everyone knew that she would ride off camp grounds for at least three hours everyday, so an hour really was a quick one.

"I'll go tell Will."

"Thanks."

She lifted her left foot, firmly placing it in the stirrup before swinging her right leg over Phaeton's back, slipping it in the other stirrup. She gripped the reigns and guided him out of the stables and through the forest. She stopped him at the top of the hill and looked down at where she had chased her little brother barely a month before.

"On a ride?"

She whipped her head to see Nico looking up at her from where he was standing next to Phaeton. "What do you want, Nico?"

He held his hands up in surrender. "Woah, just a simple conversation."

She eyed him suspiciously before slipping off the dark horse, landing crisply on the ground. She pet Phaeton before saying, "Go on back to the stables, I'll be here a while." He whinnied before turning back and galloping away. "Now what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, I just wanted to apologize for all the pranks I've pulled on you these past weeks."

"What's making you have a change of heart all of a sudden?" Ellie was growing very skeptical of the sixteen year old boy. "You aren't going to prank me now, are you?" She glanced around.

"No, not this time. Do you forgive me?"

She hesitated. "I...guess. What's the catch?"

"No catch, just hopefully a friendship and no more waking up to your instruments broken."

"I would appreciate that, seeing as I've had to ask the Hephaestus cabin to repair them five times in the last two weeks." She smiled. "You're forgiven." She dropped the smile. "But if this is a trick, consider yourself warned right now."

"Nope, no tricks." He held out his hand. "Friends?"

She eyed it warily before shaking it tentatively. "Friends."

They started to hang out together more often, telling each other everything about themselves-except their pasts, they avoid them as much as possible-and after two years they know everything there is to know about one another. The entire camp was confused that the two huge rivals were suddenly best friends, but they were children of gods and goddesses, so they didn't worry about it too much.

But what they did worry about was Miles. Though he was now nine with a lot of siblings in the Hermes cabin, he and his sister spent less and less time together. Their relationship was dwindling, and it was taking a toll on him. But his sister didn't notice. Maybe she was really oblivious, or it pained her too much, and thinking about it hurt her even more, so she tried to act like nothing was wrong.

Whatever the case, Miles needed help, and soon.

**OH MY FREAKING GODS. I FINISHED BLOOD OF OLYMPUS YESTERDAY. IF YOU'VE FINISHED IT, DM ME SO I CAN TALK TO SOMEONE ABOUT IT. PLEASE. I'M DYING IN A HOLE. I AM LITERALLY SHRIVELLING UP LIKE A RAISIN. SOMEBODY SAVE ME.**

**Anyway, how'd you like it? Tell me what you think!**

**Love always, **

**Cali 3**


	4. AN I'm sorry

**Author's Note?! I know…and I should probably apologize now…so I'm super sorry in advance. I have decided that…I am discontinuing this story. I'm sorry! Don't shoot! Hold fire! I just…I finished BoO and have decided that I would be angry with myself if I continued with this without regarding Nico. If I truly want him in character, I have to respect his sexuality, which I think Uncle Rick has made extremely clear is gay. And I love that about Nico. He's that dark, sarcastic, amazing gay best friend that I want to acknowledge, and the way not to do that is ignore that VERY IMPORTANT FACT ABOUT HIM and write a fanfiction of him being straight anyway. I feel like I'd be really ignorant and idiotic if I did. So this is honestly for me and my conscience. If you don't like it, I'm genuinely sorry, but I just can't keep writing this without feeling even a drop of guilt. I feel disrespectful to Nico, Uncle Rick, and even you guys because I'm lying about Nico and making him really OOC. It just isn't right to me. Feel free to yell at me all you want through PM's, I'll take it easily and won't be upset by it. I wanted you to know my reasoning before I just went and wrote *DISCONTINUED* on the summary. I'll probably even delete it, though it'll be like deleting a part of me. Even though I hate this story, it's a piece of my mind that I distributed to you all. But now I'm taking it back and regretting even thinking of this plot. You might see Eliana and Miles somewhere else in another of my stories, but not in this one. Again, I am honestly sorry for this. **


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